Although a thesis topic has yet to be selected, some areas of interest for the completion of the Ph.D. include: 1.) The process by which immunoglobulin and T-cell receptor genes are assembled in developing B and T-cells. 2.) The biochemical pathways involved in the binding of T-cell receptors to peptide - major histocompatibility protein complexes. 3) Elucidation of the signaling pathways that lead to lymphocyte activation. The selection of these areas of research is based both on my particular interest and on the possible contribution these studies could make toward the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and the development of vaccin .